


Worth it

by TheIceQueen



Series: Buttercreams and friends prompts. [14]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Bromance, Crying, Exhaustion, Gen, Massage, Men Crying, Pain, Strictly Come Dancing, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 02:58:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16255283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIceQueen/pseuds/TheIceQueen
Summary: Prompt: Joe dancing on Strictly and Byron supporting him the whole way (like he actually did on IG and Twitter)





	Worth it

The first day of training, Joe came home with a smile on his face that told Byron that he had no idea what he was doing. The third day Joe’s smile had changed to determination. The evening after the show, Joe had all but fallen asleep on the floor in the hallway. He would have had a relived smile on his face, if he hadn’t been so damn tired.

Two days in to the next week Byron started noticing Joe being more quiet. Joe was never quiet for too long at a time, so it wasn’t hard to notice. On day four, Joe dropped his bag on the floor just inside the door and let himself fall limb into the couch. Byron stood next to Joe’s feet, sticking out over the armrest, for a moment, looking at Joe’s chest moving with deep, and a little too fast, breaths. Joe had his arm over his eyes and didn’t seem to even notice that his roommate was in the room.

“Joe?”

Joe hummed deeply as a response.

Byron took a step closer, trying to figure out if this was just Joe being tired or if there was something else going on.

“You alright man?”

Joe moved his arm up. Brushing the hair back as he looked at Byron.

“I’m just tired. It’s crazy, you know?”

Byron sat down in the recliner, trying to forget the rawness to Joe’s voice. Had he been crying? Or was he about to? “I know. You’re dancing constantly. Even when you have time off. You’re wearing yourself out.”

Joe sat up, wincing as he did. “Yeah. I’m beat. My back is sore, my feet is sore.” He looked at his roommate. “Hell, I’m sore in places, I didn’t even knew I had muscles.”

Joe leaned back and slid down a bit, so he was almost lying against the backrest. The tired look on Joe’s face had already told Byron everything before Joe said it.

“Joe…?” Byron leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees.

“Yeah?”

“Is it worth it?”

Joe smiled, giving Byron the impression that images fromthe night of the first show was playing before Joe’s eyes.

“Yeah. Byron. It’s worth it.”

* * *

Byron was in the audience at the second show. Baffled by Joe’s performance like everyone else. They were both laughing to the point where none of them could see, when Byron almost had to carry Joe up the stairs to get to sleep.

The day after was not fun. Joe was not ready to get back out there. Not even ready to get out of bed. Nothing was said, but Joe’s hisses and growls of pain when he moved, filled enough of the empty space between the two men. Three days whet by where no more than five words was said between them. Joe would come home, eat something quick, if he hadn’t eaten at the studio, and then go straight to bed. For each morning he would look more and more exhausted and Byron would think that today was the day he would stay home. But Joe got out the door every time.

Thursday, Byron heard the drop of Joe’s bag in the hallway and expected Joe’s ghost to come in and look over the fridge before climbing the stairs to his room. But nothing happened.

“Joe?!”

Byron turned and looked to the hallway. Nothing moved. Had he heard wrong? No. It had definitely been Joe’s bag. He got up and walked out to the door.

Sure enough, there was the bag. Between the open door and Joe’s feet. Joe was leaning his back and head against the wall. Byron wondered if he would fall over if he touched him.

“Joe? You okay?”

Joe hummed and moved his head almost to make a nod. After closing the door, Byron took Joe’s arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. Joe gasped, clearly in discomfort.

“Sorry, man. But you need to lie down.”

None of them were laughing up the stairs this time and when Byron dropped Joe to sit on the bed, Joe’s eyes welled up.

“What the hell, Joe?”

“I’m just tired.”

Byron put his hands on Joe’s knees and looked investigative at his roommate. “You sure? You’re not hurt, are you?”

Joe shook his head. “I’m not. I mean, I hurt all over. Not just sore. My whole body hurts… but I’m not hurt… I don’t know how else to…”

“I get it.” Byron cut him off. “I’ll get you something for the pain and then you just get some sleep, okay?”

Byron pulled off Joe’s shoes and helped him stand so he could get out of his jeans. When Joe was lying in bed, he ran to the bathroom to find the over the counter tablets they had for headaches and stuff like that.

“You sleeping already?”

“Not sure I can. My legs are still moving, I’m sure.”

Joe smiled sluggishly at him, when Byron handed the water and pills to him.

“Thanks.”

“Do you need anything else?”

Joe looked as if he was going to talk but then looked down.

“What?” Byron walked closer again. “Joe?”

“It’s too much, Byron. I’m not sure it’s worth it.”

Byron had never seen Joe like this. Even though no one thought Joe would be good at this, the Joe Byron knew was more like the one on the dancefloor Saturday night, than the one lying here, exhausted and on the verge of crying.

Not thinking twice, Byron grabbed Joe’s laptop, which was always on, and found the clip from the second dance. He placed it on Joe’s chest making him watch.

“You’re exhausted. Your body is beat. But, listen to me when I say; It’s worth it!”

Joe watched the video through before answering. When he did he looked straight in Byron’s eyes.

“Thanks man.”

* * *

Just like the two past weeks, the last day before the show was more concentrating silence than exhaustion and doubt. Byron was eagerly waiting for the next week to begin. He would go insane of one more day of listening to that High School Musical song. The time he’d woken up with it stuck in his head, convinced him that Joe must be practicing in his sleep.

Joe wasn’t as destroyed as the week before when he arrived home. The effect of a slower dance, Byron was sure, but he’d sat a glass of water with a couple of little white tablets next to it on Joe’s nightstand, just to be sure.

After the first day of training in week four. Byron has set up a surprise for Joe when he got home. Joe’s bag dropped on the floor like clockwork and then he stopped in his tracks in the door to the living room.

“What…? Byron?”

Byron was sitting on one of two massage tables in the middle of the room. Behind him was two women in white clothes.

“Hey. I know the last one got you beat. How about you start this week fresh?”

Within 10 minutes they were on each their table  with warm towels covering their backs as the women rubbed their legs.

Byron was enjoying every second. However, it wasn’t har for him to see that Joe was hiding the pain when ever she found a tender muscle.

“You good over there?”

Joe opened his eyes. “Great. It’s amazing.”

There was no sign in his face or voice that he was lying, so Byron took his word for it.

Almost half an hour later, their backs were worked over thoroughly and they started on the shoulders and arms. Joe looked like he was in his own delightful world, and it made Byron able to relax and enjoy his massage too.

The woman covered them in hot towels again and left the room to give them some time.

“Joe?”

Joe didn’t move or look at Byron. He just hummed.

“How… ehm… Are you good?”

“Yeah…” Joe took a deep breath, making Byron smile in amusement. “Byron?”

“What?”

“It’s totally worth it.”


End file.
